An Unforgiving Season
by hisqueenofshadows
Summary: The plan was to start over, a clean slate, try to forget about the pain from the loss of her parents. But the town Mystic Falls isn't as perfect as it seemed, beneath the surface lies dark secrets as old as time, and Elena's presence has awoken something evil. Suddenly strange things are happening to her and the powerful Damon Salvatore might be the only one able to keep her alive.
1. Mystic Falls

**AN:** Okay so this is an AU, still based in mystic falls with basically all the same characters, but the story is completely different. Just an idea I had floating around in my head, and also i'm doing a mix between book/show vampire diaries. Read it, let me know what you think! (:

* * *

I hummed happily along to the music playing on the radio as I tapped my fingers in rhythm on the steering wheel, I was oddly _excited_. I was freshly 18, officially considered Jeremy's guardian and we were moving across country to a quaint little town called Mystic Falls, a fresh start for both of us. What with Jeremy's recent rebellious nature and my new found parenthood to said rebellious 16 year old, we definitely needed it.

"Your happiness is annoying, mind toning it down a bit?"

"Oh ha-ha Jer, sorry but you've claimed all the moodiness in this car."

"You're making me move across country away from my friends and hometown, so excuse me for being _moody_."

"Your so called 'friends' have gotten you in trouble with the police two times this year, and I'm moving away from all that too, okay? You're not alone in this."

"Yeah well I'm the only one who seems upset about it."

"I'm not upset because we're doing the right thing. This is going to be great for us, I can feel it."

"Keep your feelings to yourself," he replied grumpily before pulling his hoodie over his head and reclining back into his seat. I frowned over at his body, completely out of my element in what to do. In all honesty I had no idea how to be a parent, I wasn't even finished growing myself, but Jer needed a role model and I took that role very seriously. Even if I felt the sting of our parents death every day, I didn't want that for him, so whatever I could do to make his life as close to what it used to be, I would do, no matter what that meant for me. I just wished there was a how-to manual to guide me in the right direction.

* * *

By the time the _Welcome to Mystic Falls _sign appeared, I was dog tired. The drive from Colorado to here took about a day and a half, with a small rest stop that I only allowed myself three hours of sleep at. I had gotten a phone call from the moving company this morning that our things had arrived and gave them the okay to unload everything, so I had no idea if things were placed where they should be and I had a long couple days of unpacking that seemed exciting before, but in my current state just sounded like more exhausting work.

I let out a long tired yawn before smacking Jer's arm to wake him up; I figured he would want to check out the town as we drove through it.

"What?" He groaned and I rolled my eyes.

"We're here, and ooo look, a movie theater."

"Ooo, a movie theater, how exciting!" He replied sarcastically, staring at me blankly.

"Don't be such a brat, Jer. Oh hey, look there's the high school," I said, pointing over at the _Mystic Falls High School, Home of the Timberwolves _sign, and trying my best to get him excited about something. He peeked over, looking but trying to act like he wasn't looking, and I guessed that was better than nothing.

"The house we bought is more on the outskirts of town, so I'll probably have to drive you to school. I haven't figured out the bus system yet, and you start tomorrow by the way."

"Ugh, what the hell? Why?"

"Jer, language! And because you already have a lot of catching up to do since all you did was slack off so far this year." I looked over as he mumbled something unintelligible and couldn't keep the smile off my face from the little angry boy look he was giving me.

"And anyways, I don't know why you're complaining. I'm the one who's going to have to unpack all by myself."

"You're also the one who wanted to move," he said under his breathe, and I decided to pretend like I hadn't heard him.

* * *

The drive to the house only took about 10 minutes and it felt even faster thanks to the beautiful scenery. There were a lot of trees, like we were driving through one big forest and since it was the middle of fall, everything was pretty oranges, reds, and browns. Once the tires hit the driveway and we reached the front of the house, my breath caught. I had seen pictures of the house of course, but actually seeing it in person, was just _wow_. It was a two-story, white colored house with black trimming and a huge wrap-around porch, complete with its own swing that I already could imagine writing in my diary or reading on.

"Woah, no way could we afford this place," Jer replied, hoping out of the car with a goofy smile on his face. He was pretty spot on, I had thought the same thing when I found it, thinking that even with the money we had gotten from our parents that no way could we make it work, but the pricing proved otherwise.

"It actually was right in our price-range, a little lower to be exact."

Jer turned back towards me, eyebrows raised in obvious disbelief, and I thought it was funny that he was going through all the same emotions I did before buying the place. In the end it all felt a little too good to be true, but I couldn't pass a place like this up.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, the realtor said it's in perfect condition. The states owned it for the past couple years and they couldn't get anyone to buy it, I guess people just don't like living out this far."

"I bet you someone died in it."

"Ew Jer, don't say that." My skin crawled just at the suggestion and I felt a little sick, the realtor had said nothing about anyone dying in the house though.

"Or it's haunted, or maybe we have bad neighbors," he said sarcastically as he raised his eyebrows up and down a few times, and then looked accusingly at all our neighboring trees. I laughed at him, giving him a playful shove in the shoulder as I made my way up to the front porch steps.

"Be quiet Jer, you're starting to sound like the beginning of a bad scary movie," I said, smiling hugely as I opened the front door. The inside was as beautiful, if not more, than the outside.

Jer pushed in behind me, looking around before bounding up the stairs, no doubt in search of his bedroom. He made it half way up before turning around towards me with a smirk on his face, and I immediately knew he was up to something.

"Maybe they'll base a scary movie after us when they mysteriously find our decaying, dead bodies in the house, no signs of intruders," he said ominously, before hightailing it out of view.

"Not funny, Jer!" I shouted up the stairs after him, wondering where in the world he got such a morbid sense of humor. Definitely not from me, that was for sure.

I moved over to the couch and plopped down, sighing into the cushions. The TV was still packed away and the cable guy wasn't even schedule to come until tomorrow, so I figured I would just rest my feet a bit before starting the grueling process of unpacking.

* * *

A knock on the door jolted me out of a deep sleep. My heart was racing and I was sweating underneath all my layers of clothing, my scarf feeling like a constricting snake around my neck. I got up, yanking it off and then my jacket, tossing them both on the couch when I heard another knock.

"Elena, door!" Jer shouted somewhere from upstairs.

"Yeah, I got it!" I yelled back, _thank-you_ captain obvious.

I stopped right in front of the door, running my hands through my hair a couple times and taking in a deep breath. I put my hand on the knob and peeked through the side of the window, seeing the frame of a man before I pulled the door open. I didn't feel as cautious as I normally would because the realtor had told me that Mystic Falls was as safe as they came, that nothing bad ever happened here, so I wasn't worried about the possibilities of intruders. But I definitely wasn't prepared for the face that I was met with, least of all expecting it.

The man was gorgeous, shaggy pitch-black hair that I had to wonder if it was naturally that dark or if he dyed it to give himself more of an edgy, almost scary look. He had a beautifully chiseled face, a strong jaw and chin that were peppered with stubble, and a pair of the most brilliant bright blue eyes I had ever seen.

"Uh, h-hi?" I stuttered, feeling my cheeks immediately start to pink. His eyes dropped down and his lips tipped up on the left side in a positively sinful smirk.

"Damon Salvatore," he said, his smooth voice washing over me as he extended his hand towards me. I reached mine towards him slowly, entirely confused by why my cheeks were still burning and my heart was racing.

"Elena," I replied quietly as we shook hands.

"Yeah, I heard." His chin tipped up towards the house and he squeezed my hand once before letting go. I subtly wiped my hand on my jeans, willing the tingles to go away.

"Oh, yeah. That was my brother." No need for him to know that he was my _younger_ brother and that he wouldn't be able to do much in protecting us if this situation turned bad, but hey, he didn't have to know that.

"I see," he nodded, smirk still in place.

"Anyways, I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to Mystic Falls," he pointed to the left of the house at the trees before continuing, "you can't see me, but I live right through those trees. Probably a bit of a walk though."

I leaned out the doorway, noticing how close it brought me towards him, as I looked where he was pointing and saw nothing but trees like he said.

"So, we're neighbors?" I asked, leaning back into the safety of the house, the comment Jer made earlier popping back unwelcome into my head.

"Yep, haven't had neighbors in a while." His eyes glimmered mischievously, like he knew some joke that I didn't and I wasn't sure if I felt more annoyed or frightened by that. It was definitely a weird mix of emotions and I found myself wrapping my arms around my middle, a clear protective gesture that his eyes didn't miss.

"Yeah, I heard the house had a bit of trouble selling." I replied simply, not letting on that I felt uncomfortable.

"Can't imagine why, I always thought this place was beautiful." His voice rang out with honesty, his lips spreading into a small smile, and it weirdly made me perk up, completely forgetting how I felt just five seconds ago.

"Yeah, it is. You know anything about the old owners?"

"No, I didn't live here then. My brother did though, he might know something."

"You have a brother?" I asked, not even thinking that it was kind of inappropriate to be asking him personal questions.

"Yeah, Stefan. I'm guessing he's about your age, bit of a recluse though, so I don't think you'll see much of him."

"Okay," I paused, feeling a bit awkward and out of things to talk about.

"Thanks for coming by, Damon. It was nice meeting you."

"Pleasure was all mine," he winked before turning his back and trotting down the stairs. I watched his leather-jacket clad back for a moment before switching to his impressive backside, his long, strong legs eating up the gravel.

"Stop by anytime if you need anything."

My head snapped up and my cheeks flushed embarrassingly hard at being caught ogling, and I knew I had been because the devilish smirk he was shooting me was so cocky that there was no other explanation for it. He placed a pair of shades over his eyes before sliding into a very nice looking Camaro and then he smoothly tore out of my driveway. I stood in the door, not moving until a while later. I had played the conversation back in my head at least twice, and I still had no idea what had just happened.

Although I was pretty sure it wasn't the last I would be seeing of Damon Salvatore.

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**AN:** Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think, should I continue this?


	2. Animal Attacks

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter and to the few of you who reviewed/favorited/followed, I appreciate it! I know this is a quick upload, but don't expect that from me, I had the day off of work and I was in the mood to write so this chapter just kind of wrote itself. Well anyways, read it and let me know what you think! xx

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_My feet screamed out in pain as the sharp rocks below them stabbed into the tender flesh, but I couldn't wince or move away, for some reason my body wasn't in my control. I could see my surroundings though, which wasn't much due to it being obviously night time and the slight fog all around me, but I could smell the salt water in the air and knew I was by the ocean. My fingers trembled, and it wasn't because of the bone-chilling wind that billowed my hair and seeped freely through my thin night gown, no, it wasn't because of that at all. The reason my fingers shook so unwilling was because I was __**terrified**__, I could feel it coursing through me, igniting a fire inside of me. _

_I was out here for a reason, I knew that much, but the details were fuzzy and the harder I pushed for answers the weaker the image got, so I stopped, deciding to focus on where my legs were taking me instead. _

_Quickly the rocks under my feet turned to soft grass, and I welcomed the change happily until I saw where the grass was leading me. Or I guess where it __**wasn't **__leading me, because soon I was standing high above water, my toes wrapping over and hugging the edge of a cliff. _

_I tried to move back, my heart beating double time, but I didn't even have a smidgen of control over my limbs. And then all of a sudden I was turning, placing my back to edge, before I felt a powerful shove that had me stumbling towards safety. I scrambled away from the edge, visibly shaking with relief, and then turned back around only for my eyes to stop dead on my own face. The girl looked just like me, or a version of me, more natural and angelic looking, with wild curly hair. I watched as her lips parted, chest rising as she pulled in a shaky breathe._

_"You have to leave," her voice whispered into the wind._

_"Leave where?" I asked. _

_"Don't let the past repeat itself," she said louder, looking towards me for the first time as a single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek. I watched in slow motion as she stepped back, feet scrambling for purchase in a reflex effort to keep her from falling._

_"No!" I yelled and sprang forward, reaching for her only to have my arms ghost straight through her chest, and then my stomach pitched as I watched her fall._

**_Down… down… down…_**

* * *

"ELENA!" A voice shouted, hands grabbing at me and I screamed out in terror, not fully out of my nightmare yet.

"ELENA! WAKE UP!" The voice shouted again, and this time I was coherent enough to recognize Jeremy's voice. My eyes sprang open and I saw him standing over me, worry clearly written all over his face.

"Sorry, Jer. I didn't mean to freak you out," I said, pulling myself up in a sitting position and realizing I had fallen asleep in a midst of empty boxes on the living room floor. My back ached as I moved and I groaned out in annoyance, waking up bad had the tendency to ruin the whole day.

"Bad dream?" He asked, and I looked up at him, seeing what I hadn't seen at first in his expression. He was scared, and I knew why. I suffered from nightmares for months after our parents died, reliving the car accident over and over until I finally managed to make them go away. Jer was the one who would wake me up every night, and I would be so frightened and delirious that I would cry into his shoulder before I could get a hold of myself. This obviously had freaked him out because he didn't know how to help me; I was supposed to be the strong one. I felt incredibly guilty for each and every one of those nights.

"Yeah, Jer. It's not what you think though, all that scary house nonsense must have gotten to me."

"Oh, sorry," he said, looking sheepish. I just shook my head and laughed at him, reaching for his hand to haul myself up. I caught a glimpse out the window, noticing the green grass bathed in sunlight.

"Oh my god! What time is it?" I screeched, running around the room in search of my boots. I had totally forgotten about Jeremy's first day of school, well I guess not _totally_. If I would have slept in my room as planned my alarm clock would have woken me up.

"Relax Elena; I'm only like a half hour late."

"HALF HOUR?! Jer, it's your first day!" I snatched my keys off the counter; feeling upset with myself because I was already messing this up.

"Get in the car, go, go, go!" I waved my arms frantically as I bustled him out the door, quickly locking it behind me.

"Where's the fire?"

"It's going to light it under your ass if you don't hurry it up," I snapped, the words immediately tasting sour on my tongue because I rarely ever talked to Jer that way. He took it all in stride though, laughing like it was the funniest thing he had heard in a while, so I didn't beat myself up about it too much.

I plopped down in the car, slamming the door behind me, quickly running my hands up and down my arms because I had forgotten a coat while I waited for Jer to settle. I put the key in the ignition and turned, hearing nothing but a click. I squeezed my eyes shut and said a little prayer before trying again…and getting nothing.

I didn't know much about cars, but I knew that clicking sound meant my battery was dead.

I smacked the steering wheel twice before gripping it tightly and knocking my head into it with a groan. _What to do, what to do?_

I hopped out of the car, pacing a few times as Jeremy tried to reason with me to just let him stay home, but I wasn't having any of that. I wanted things to start off right here, and letting him stay home his first day of school felt a lot more wrong than right.

"Elena, we don't even have neighbors and the town is miles away."

"Neighbors!" I shouted, suddenly remembering that Damon Salvatore had said he lived a bit of a walk through the trees. I mean, a bit of a walk couldn't be too far, right? And he did say to stop by if I needed anything.

"Come on, Jer. We're going for a walk."

* * *

So I was beginning to realize that a bit of a walk _definitely_ could mean a far walk. We had been walking for at least 20 minutes and the constant bickering from Jeremy didn't help. I had to repeatedly tell him that no, we weren't lost… but now I was beginning to doubt the truth to that statement.

"Did you hear that?" Jer said, turning to the left and looking at, well, _nothing_.

"Shut up, I am not in the mood."

"No seriously, I heard something." I glared back at him, but stopped just to appease him. I looked around the forest at nothing but trees and a whole lot of leaves, thinking that while I thought the scenery was pretty yesterday, the current situation just made it seem a whole lot eerier.

And then I heard leaves crunching and a twig snap, almost sounding like someone was putting their foot down.

"See, told you." I watched as he moved towards the sound, and I instinctively reached out to grab his wrist.

"Don't, it was probably just a rabbit or something. Come on, let's go." I made to move, planning on just dragging him with me when the crunching sound happened again. This time definitely sounding like footsteps, and like they were coming our way.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice ringing throughout the woods. The crunching stopped immediately, causing Jer and I to stare at each other with wide eyes.

One second we were standing there, no sound coming from us or anywhere else, and the next second we heard it again, this time louder. The snapping of twigs and the pounding of feet, whoever or whatever it was, was coming at us at full speed.

"RUN!" I shoved Jer in front of me, propelling him into motion and I followed as fast as I could on his heels, the whole time the sounds behind us coming closer and closer, until I swore I could feel fingertips graze the back of my skull.

I watched as Jer jumped through a large bush, completely disappearing from my line of sight, and then searing pain lashed into my shoulder causing me to stumble. I screamed out in terror thinking this was the moment where I died, until suddenly I was lifted up and backwards through the bush. At the last second I saw a shadowy figure, but it was gone before I could focus in on it.

I was yanked all the way through the clearing of trees, strong arms held me steady, and my back was cradled on a muscular chest. It took me all but point five seconds to realize whoever was holding me was definitely not Jeremy.

"Let me go!" I screamed, kicking backwards as I punched at the arms around me. I was quickly but gently set down, my knees too weak to hold me up so I slumped to the ground.

"Hey it's alright, you're okay." Legs crouched towards me, and then I was face-to-face with Damon Salvatore, his big palm coming up to cradle the side of my face.

"D-damon," I stuttered breathlessly, my voice still laced with fear. I looked around, noticing the empty road we were on and feeling the loss of my little brother's presence for the first time.

"Jeremy!" I panicked, trying to scramble up but Damon's hands held me down.

"I told him to wait in the car; he's fine, a little shaken up, but fine. Mind telling me what just happened?"

My fingers twisted into his jacket and I curled myself towards him, not even thinking, just knowing that I wanted him to protect me. His arm came around my shoulders, the other curving around my side so he could rub soothing circles into my back with his hand. I rested my forehead into the crook of his neck and tried to settle my breathing, but my body still felt threatened, the extra adrenaline coursing in my veins caused me to shake.

"Someone was," I paused to lick my dry lips and take another deep breath.

"In the woods. Someone was chasing us."

I cringed as Damon's fingers ghosted over where my shoulder was still stinging painfully.

"You're bleeding, Elena."

"Why would someone be chasing us?" I asked in a small voice, completely ignoring what he had said. More focused on the fact I had just been chased in a town where no one even _knew me yet_.

"Are you positive it was a person? There have been some reported animal attacks lately, your scream probably scared it off."

I let out the biggest sigh, all tension leaving my body and I giggled… although it sounded a bit delirious. I was relieved though; being almost attacked by an animal wasn't as bad as a person, just no more walks in the creepy forest for us.

"That makes much more sense; all that adrenaline was probably playing tricks with my eyes. A branch or something must have caught me in the shoulder."

"Speaking of, we should probably get you to the hospital. You might need stitches." I grimaced as Damon stood, bringing us both to our feet, and I subtly breathed in his musky scent. I figured I could play the damsel in distress for at least a few more moments if it allowed me the extra closeness to him. But then I remembered why I was in this situation in the first place, and I laughed at how horribly wrong today had been so far.

"This is going to sound ridiculous, but I was actually looking for you before all this craziness happened."

"Is that so?" He asked, his eyebrows raised and _that_ smirk fell back into place. I had to admit it looked a lot better when I was in his arms, which were still wrapped snugly around me because I could not bring myself to move.

"Yeah, it's Jeremy's first day of school and I think I left the car door open last night when I was grabbing some boxes out of it because when I went to start it this morning the battery was dead, and.." I stopped, my cheeks flushing because I was rambling and also because Damon looked highly amused.

"Long story short, we need a ride. And I might need a jump, if that isn't asking for too much?" I asked, tilting my head and pursing my lips.

"One condition," he whispered, his face falling into my neck. For some reason I didn't even cringe at the unexpected move, in fact, I moved a tad bit closer so I could feel his lips brush my skin with each word they formed. I was feeling uncharacteristically bold.

"What condition?" I breathed. His nose sensually glided from my collarbone to the small shell behind my ear where he stopped and then proceeded to inhale deeply.

"Hmmm," he rumbled, "I haven't decided yet, can I get back to you later?"

I paused, thinking about my answer but not really _knowing_ what to say since I had no clue what his condition would be, but I figured I could always change my mind later if I didn't approve of whatever he came up with. Not that I could think of any possible future where I would turn this man down for anything.

He must have gotten impatient waiting for my answer, because he sharply nipped me in the neck, causing me to moan out a yes.

"Now that that's settled, we should probably stop making your brother uncomfortable and get going," He chuckled before untangling himself from me and opening the passenger side door. I stood confused for a second, my body not yet adjusted to the sudden loss of him, but when I saw my brother sitting in the back of the car with his head down, I immediately snapped out of it.

Oh god. My cheeks flushed and I was immensely embarrassed that I had just acted like that _in front of my brother_. It seemed like I was getting progressively worse at this parenting thing.

* * *

**AN:** What do you think so far? Thanks for reading! xx


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